Below is everything Indianapolis Colts' head coach Shane Steichen had to say at his final press conference prior to the Sunday game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Opening Statement:
“The only guy we’re ruling out is Sauce Gardner. Other than that, ready when you guys are.”
Is Jaylon Carlies ready to go?
“He had a great week of practice. We’ll make that decision here soon.”
How does Jakobi Meyers change things for them?
“He’s got good speed, good burst. He’s had a hell of a career everywhere he’s been. He’s like I said, good speed, good route running ability. Hell of a player.”
With Sauce Gardner, I know he’s out for this week but were you able to track any progress or any updates?
“Yeah, he made great progress this week. Just doing his rehab treatment, but he did good this week. He’s progressing well.”
Not to get too far ahead, but DeForest Buckner seemed pretty optimistic and you have expressed some of that. Where is he at?
“He’s progressing really well. So, the hope is sooner than later, but we’ll see how it goes. But he’s doing really well.”
Does Daniel Jones continue to get better day after day after day?
“He does. He does. He’s doing a hell of a job taking care of the leg and he’s getting better for sure.”
You probably don’t ignore the magnitude of this game, but you also I’m sure try to manage not making it too big of a deal. How have you walked that line?
“I think we’ve got to understand going on the road against a division opponent, especially in early December – all these games are big. So, we’ve got to go out there and play with great details, great fundamentals, great urgency and energy.”
Carlie Irsay-Gordon, principal owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts, is photographed Thursday, Sept 25, 2025, in the trophy room at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis. Irsay-Gordon is holding a helmet worn by former Indianapolis Colts player Robert Mathis.December has been a pretty good time historically for the Colts since 2018. Is there some kind of methodology to getting that result in December?
“I think obviously, when you get into December, that’s when it really needs to crank up. You have your first half of the season, which is good. You put yourself in position to set yourself up for success in December, but you’ve got to be playing your best ball in December – come this time for sure.”
The weather continues to look rainy. I assume you did some stuff in practice?
“Yeah, a lot of wet ball periods. Just going through that process for sure.”
Over the years, I feel like when it’s going to rain we talk about teams just running it. But it doesn’t really seem to impact play calling all that much.
“Yeah, it depends on how hard it is raining, and what’s it like – what are the weather conditions? Can the quarterback grip the ball? There’s a lot that goes into it. So, obviously we’ll have a better idea for that on Sunday.”
Being without DeForest Buckner and Sauce Gardner – you guys have had a lot of experience moving guys in and out of the secondary. How does that dynamic change what you guys can or try to do on defense, and give more guys opportunities?
“Yeah, it’s really what you just said. It’s next guy up. Lou (Anarumo) puts together the scheme for the guys that are in there, and I think he does a hell of a job with that. So whoever is out there, we have a lot of confidence in those guys.”
How’s that turf in the rain?
“They’ve got grass, so it depends on how hard it’s raining. We’ll see when we get out there – like I said – on Sunday. It could be muddy. Who knows? We’ll figure that out. We’ve got to make sure we have the right cleats on and we go from there.”